Saturday, November 15, 2014

WASHINGTON—The debate over President Barack Obama ’s plans to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation hinges on a simple question: How many is too many?

There is widespread agreement that presidents can decide who gets deported and who gets to stay, part of the concept known as “prosecutorial discretion.” There also is precedent for granting temporary legal status to individuals and smaller groups of people, such as victims of natural disasters.

People familiar with White House thinking say people most likely to qualify are parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents, and possibly parents of Dreamers. Spouses of citizens might also be included. Mr. Obama is also likely to expand the criteria for the 2012 program so that more Dreamers qualify.

Together, these groups could total some four million people, on top of more than a million Dreamers already eligible for what is called “deferred action,” according to one of the people familiar with the discussions.

Mr. Obama himself cast doubt on his authority last fall, when a protester said the president has the power to stop deportations.

“Actually I don’t,” the president replied. “If, in fact, I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so. But we’re also a nation of laws. That’s part of our tradition. And so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws.”